


sea-torn skies

by side_stickie_note (lost_stickie_note)



Series: tinysparks [3]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dragon!Yifan, Ill-fated love, Junmyeon's Birthday Week 2020, M/M, Unhappy Ending, merman!Junmyeon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:29:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24205945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lost_stickie_note/pseuds/side_stickie_note
Summary: Yifan's heart soars to new heights upon meeting Junmyeon, and he tries not to fall.
Relationships: Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Wu Yi Fan | Kris
Series: tinysparks [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1734781
Comments: 17
Kudos: 43
Collections: Challenge #2 — Merfolk





	sea-torn skies

**Author's Note:**

> Vaguely based on EXO powers, Yifan (Flight/Dragon) and Junmyeon (Water), with a dash of rain inspo because Yifan's November Rain. Haven't done much fantasy before, but it's been on my list for a while, and this was really interesting to experiment with. :)
> 
> Extra thanks and hugs to my lovely beta reader. ♡♡♡

Yifan is of the sky, and Junmyeon is of the sea.

The first time Yifan lays eyes on Junmyeon, it is by complete happenstance mixed with a dash of luck, Yifan preferring to keep to the higher skies, within the wispy layer of clouds, most favorably ones that are heavily laden with water, ready to burst into thousands of little droplets, the misty coolness of flying through a raincloud sinfully pleasant on his scales. But a devastatingly heated day combined with a cloudless azure blue sky forces Yifan to dip lower, the temperature dropping the closer he gets to the surface of the sea, barely any wind to stir up proper waves, delighted at the feeling when the air tugs at his length, cooling him, his tail whipping up spray from below. It’s on this day that Yifan catches a glimpse of Junmyeon, not quite his whole being, but just the end of his tail as he slips back down under the water, a pretty iridescent blue woven in with sea foam greens, shiny silvers, and a luxurious deep purple. Yifan has seen merfolk before for sure, but he is instantly enamored by Junmyeon’s tail waving as if he is giving the wide expanse of sky above a goodbye.

Yifan hasn’t transformed in centuries, having found no reason to, and the first time he does, it’s an uncomfortable sensation prickling across his skin, the feeling of his scales shedding down making him itch furiously. It takes some getting used to, the inconvenience of no longer having flight, and walking comes hesitantly, the action of moving his limbs unnatural at first. But Yifan does it, and he starts spending his time exploring the nooks and crannies of different coves, climbing over slippery rocks overgrown with algae, hoping for something more. It takes a few weeks of him dipping his feet into the waters at a hidden cove, the air chilly and slightly damp, dark inside except for some sunlight penetrating through the slivers of cracks in the rock, for him to spot the tail he’s searching for.

Junmyeon is more majestic than he imagined, the other boy folding his arms over the spot next to him, only the top of his head down to his mid-back above the water’s surface, shoulders rolling into a strong muscular back, hair slicked and wet, a few tendrils escaping to frame his face. Curiosity alights Junmyeon’s features, and it isn’t long before they fall into an easy routine, daily conversations where Junmyeon regales him with tales of his exploits, and Yifan does so in turn, though Junmyeon seems to think only that Yifan has a vivid imagination, never suspecting that Yifan’s stories of mythical dragons or feudal wars fought in the skies are anything more than flighting fancies. After all, to Junmyeon, Yifan is human, as sure as the two feet Yifan walks with.

It is after two months that Junmyeon shyly shows Yifan his tail fully, likely not realizing that Yifan has seen it each time Junmyeon leaves, his tail flicking just above the surface, Junmyeon’s embarrassment of being different painting his cheeks even though Yifan assures Junmyeon that he doesn’t mind in the slightest, immediately slipping into the water to join him for the first time, grasping on to Junmyeon’s shoulders. Junmyeon’s scales are smooth and wet and feel not unlike his own, though Junmyeon’s are much prettier, a natural gleam that is in stark contrast to Yifan’s own dull and rusted red. It fascinates him to no end, and Junmyeon can’t hide his shock the first time Yifan runs his fingers over Junmyeon’s tail, and then his lips.

Junmyeon tastes like the salt of the sea, like rainclouds that have gathered too many tears.

And Yifan listens to Junmyeon describe his home, a grand underwater seascape befitting of a king, when Yifan asks. “Have you ever tried to reside anywhere other than the sea?”

He can tell the question startles Junmyeon, the surprise flitting across his face, responding solemnly. “No, it would near impossible as my tail would not take kindly to it. Without the sea, my scales will cease their shine.” Junmyeon gazes at him wistfully. “Though I would greatly love to. There is so much that I have yet to see.”

“I should like to show you someday.” Yifan declares.

“Show me what?”

“The feeling of taking flight.”

Junmyeon just laughs in return.

Yifan is unsure of how they find out, perhaps he is uncareful in one of his transformations, but they come for him when they do, Junmyeon’s people, the merfolk that discover he is no more human than they are. And Yifan can’t bear to watch as they warn Junmyeon with century-old tales of the darker side from his ancestors’ history, of days where all the lands were set alight with flame, soot darkening the sky until the sun is almost blotted out, blackened rain muddying the clear blues of the sea. Some of the tales are false, but many are true, and Yifan doesn’t have the heart to tell Junmyeon of all the atrocities that he has borne witness to, and which, he’s ashamed to say, he may have partaken in. It’s a past long gone, forced into extinction as his lineage had died off one by one, and it has been decades since Yifan has heard the tales in the circles he frequents, stories that were once boosted of now turned into ones of shame. There was war, but Junmyeon has only ever known peace.

The irony is not lost on him that they do not come peacefully, and his only regret is that Junmyeon finds out this way, Yifan taking to the skies to escape, burnt red scales and long drawn claws materializing in front of Junmyeon’s very eyes. Yifan leaves Junmyeon behind in a torrent of rain, his roar echoing to the sound of thunderous applause, Yifan torn by a simple truth.

Junmyeon is of the sea, and Yifan is of the sky.

**Author's Note:**

> 🌧️🌊: "Sometimes the end and the beginning are the same place."
> 
> Twitter: [@sidestickienote](https://twitter.com/sidestickienote)  
> CuriousCat: [@sidestickienote](https://curiouscat.qa/sidestickienote)


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